Monday, May 17, 2010

Junior Year

Where do I begin? My junior year was something that I had not seen coming. It was completely different from my previous two years in high school. Like everyone else, I was heavily influenced by the change in schools. I guess I tried out a couple of new things at this school. For one, I tried out online courses. Well, I sort of regret taking them because of the amount of time they require. I also tried out classes that I never thought I would take. For instance, Music Theory. That class was something that I was not expecting, and I just entered the class hoping for the best. I think my wish came true, and if it did not, then it was very close to the best. I also tried theater with Mr. Glenn. It was super, duper, extreme fun. It’s so sad that Mr. Glenn (that traitor) is going to be leaving us.

Besides the new things I tried out, I also met a lot of new people. On my first day of school, I really did not know where to sit. I did not want to sit with Brittany and Steven because I wanted to meet new people. However, I did not know where to start. Despite the fact that the cafeteria at this school makes feel claustrophobic at times, I felt lost on the first day. I decided to sit down by myself for a couple minutes to see if there were people to sit by. All of a sudden, a kid came up from behind me and sat next to me. He asked me if I was Korean, and when I said I was, he gave me a big smile and said he was Korean as well. He said, “My name is Eugene. Let’s be friends.”

I know that there are a lot of outgoing people out there, but this one just caught me by surprise. Even more, when he started to tell me about himself, I found out that he was actually from Bolivia and that he was new to the country. Talk about taking the initiative. That lunch period ended with Eugene and I learning more about each other (but we eventually found ourselves at Steven and Brittany’s table unfortunately).

I made a lot more friends in all of my classes. I became friends with the valedictorian of our senior class, Rebecca Kim, and I became friends with one of the stupidest people that I have ever met (I’m not going to give the name). I became friends with an Indian freshman in the theater, and I became friends with an Asian senior that sang the National Anthem at the Awards Night. I became friends with a lot of different people. Back at Northview, I did not have a lot of choice in the type of friends. There were many, many Asians, and although I love my people, too much of anything is bad. Not only that, but Asians are also one of the most mob-minded people that I know. If I walked down the halls at Northview, I would somehow find myself in a slowly growing crowd of Asians. Even here, when I try to make new friends, I find that a disproportionate amount of my friends are Asians. Well, that’s a discussion for another day.

I meet a couple of my Northview friends from time to time, and we just hang out. A lot of the times, something feels different. I think it has to do with me being away from the group for such long periods of time, but I think there might be another underlying reason as well. My friends and I have become more mature, I think. Back at Northview, my friends and I used to have fun doing the most immature things. Now, when I see people doing immature things, I just want to punch them in the face, especially if they acted like I did back then. Perhaps it is not my friends who are more mature, but it is just me. After all, I know for a fact that one of my closest friends when to Northview on snow day and drew large inappropriate figures in the snow. I sort of miss being immature. It was easier to laugh back then. Now, I have reservations before I laugh, and I think to myself, “is it really okay to laugh at this?”

I guess that is one thing that has changed about me here. I guess I have become a bit older. I don’t say that just because I laugh less at crude jokes. I’m saying that because I can tell that my outlook on life has significantly changed. Sometimes, I’m not too sure what my outlook on life is, but I know that it is a whole lot different than the one that I used to have.

Johns Creek has made me feel a bit angrier, too. I guess that is a negative thing about this year. Back at Northview, I was one of the medium students in the socioeconomic levels. Now, I’m sure I am in the bottom 5 percent. I know that I should not feel this way, but it’s sort of an automatic human thought. I control it most of the time, but sometimes I want to punch the spoiled kids in the face (not every rich kid is spoiled, by the way. I only think the ones that brag about what their dad bought them are spoiled.)

Reflections for next year? I know that I am going to be staying at this school. Maybe, it’s better for me to go back to Northview, but I don’t want to give up on something that I just started. I came to this school because I was worried about regrets I would have later on in life if I didn’t come. Despite coming here, I still have many, many regrets. Next year, I’ll make sure to tackle my life even harder and make sure I don’t have any regrets at all.

4 comments:

  1. Nick,

    I love the fact that when you came over to Johns Creek, you seemed to grow as a person. I also love how you seemed to find yourself.
    It is perfectly fine and acceptable to laugh at certain things, and not have any restrictions, haha.
    Yes, the spoiled kids at this school are irritating and obnoxious. I'll help you with the "punching them in the face." :)

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  2. Brittany Liebenow

    Last Comment (Sniff Sniff)

    Nick,

    I am a little offended about how Steven and I appear to repel you even though we have been your friends for quite some time. Eugene sat with us because we are best friends forever, of course. He still gives me hugs in the hallway! You are certainly right, Eugene is a swell guy.

    I also am going to have to agree with the Asian mob mentality. It is also one of the reasons why I left Northview, and I feel that personally leaving that mob mentality helped me grow to be a better person. I notice that you have gotten to be more mature, but you should still remember the jokes that you still do laugh at (like a few days ago in the hallway?). Not that there is anything wrong with that.

    I can see how it would bother you about the economic thing, but I do not believe that defines you as a person in the least. Considering what you wrote, I do have to agree with you and Callie. Also, I am up for punching anyone in the face.

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  3. Nick I enjoyed reading your last blog post. As for the meeting new people paragraph, I also met many new people that became my friends. I do still have some regrets on coming to this school as I am sure you do too, however I think we just have to make the most of the decision that we made. At Autrey Mill, I hung around kids that were going to Northview for the most of middle school while I was going to Chattahoochee. Then, when I went to Chattahoochee, I became friends with the people that I really did not hang out in middle school (which was weird in a way). Now, ironically I hang around my middle school friends and have had much better experiences with them than with the people at Chattahoochee because I feel like the people that I befriended at Autrey MIll were my true friends. I am looking forward to next year and maybe we will have a couple classes together again.

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  4. I feel the same way as half of your post; the half that is not bashing Brittany and I as uncool people. Some of those transformations (whether they actually happened or not) seems to have happened to me; things like having a more mature view of the world and widening the distance between me and some NHS friends. Might I have a suggestion for future published posts for you to be more cautious (or mature if you will)of who your readers might be for example maybe you shouldn't give off such a nasty tone towards others that will be reading this. Have a great summer.

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